A Social Learning Theory-Based Intervention to Promote Sustainable Waste Management Behaviour Among Students
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A Social Learning Theory-Based Intervention to Promote Sustainable Waste Management Behaviour Among Students
Ms. Astha Garg1
Research Scholars
Department of Family and Community Resource Management
Faculty of Family and Community Sciences
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat
Email: garg.astha1022@gmail.com
Dr. Urvashi Mishra2
Assistant Professor
Department of Family and Community Resource Management
Faculty of Family and Community Sciences
The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat
Email: Urvashi.mishra-fcrm@msubaroda.ac.in
Corresponding Author- Ms. Astha Garg
Abstract
India faces numerous challenges related to waste management, including inadequate disposal systems, a lack of awareness and willingness to segregate waste, and insufficient resources. Students are the future of society, and they learn fast. If we inculcate the SWM behaviour in the early ages of their lives, it will help society. This study examines whether SLT relationships hold true for children's environmental behaviour development, specifically in waste management education among rural students. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a Social Learning Theory (SLT)- based intervention designed to enhance sustainable waste management practices among middle-stage students. Using a pre-experimental pretest-posttest design, the study assessed 339 students (aged 10-15 years) from three rural schools in Halol, Gujarat. Students were evaluated on three SLT domains: cognitive understanding, outcome expectancies, and behavioural performance. A comprehensive, approximately 30-hour intervention was conducted. The findings showed a significant improvement across all three domains: cognitive understanding increased the most by 123.5% with p<0.001, Cohen's d = 3.24, outcome expectancies improved by 21.7% with p<0.001, Cohen's d =1.92, and behavioural performance showed enhancement by 67.5% with a large effect size of 0.89 after intervention. These findings suggest that children's environmental learning may follow independent developmental pathways rather than the sequential cognitive-affective-behavioural progression proposed by SLT. This has significant implications for environmental education theory and practice, suggesting that multi-component interventions targeting each domain separately may be more appropriate for children than adult-oriented sequential approaches. The intervention utilized 12 digital educational modules delivered through Hindi-language videos, visual demonstrations, and interactive communication strategies, demonstrating the potential of technology-mediated environmental education in resource-constrained rural settings.
Keywords: Sustainable, waste management, social learning theory, rural schools, intervention, behaviour change, environmental education, digital learning, visual communication
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